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| Three men of Palestinian descent were being held on bonds of $2 million each after allegedly telling a stripper they planned to blow up military bases around San Antonio. Ribhi Abdalla, 25, his cousin Jadallah Abdallah, 21, both of San Antonio, and Makram Sayel Hijaz, 20, of Mesquite, were arrested Monday night at a North Side strip club. They were being held late Tuesday in Bexar County Jail on charges of making terroristic threats. While details of the arrest spread quickly around San Antonio, it wasn't altogether clear just how seriously federal and state investigators were taking the alleged threats. Charles Jenkins, a federal prosecutor assigned to the terror task force in the U.S. attorney's office, said he was unaware of any basis for federal charges. He suggested the rumor mill was outpacing reality, but declined to elaborate. "I think there's less here than meets the ear," he said. San Antonio police referred media calls to the FBI. FBI Special Agent Mark Rich said his agency has assisted the police in following up on the arrests, but that the case will remain a local one. "It's a local matter," he said. "There are no federal charges." Abdalla is an American citizen; the other two are recent immigrants. They were arrested about 11 p.m. Monday at the XTC Cabaret after allegedly making remarks to a stripper about waging "holy war" and saying they were going to carry out the work of the Sept. 11 terrorists by attacking local military bases, according to a police report. The stripper told investigators the men "were very serious while they were talking about this," the police report states. They told her "not to be afraid, that they were not going to hurt her, that they were here for other things." The men, who held jobs at gas stations and convenience stores, told her "we are having a good time and spending our money, just the way our others (sic) did before 9-11," the report states. A club manager described the men as "boisterously drunk." Police confiscated at least 21 bank and department store credit cards from Abdalla and impounded his car, which carried North Carolina license plates and contained a map of Florida. Reached at a South Side convenience store, frantic relatives of the cousins insisted none of the men had any strong political or religious leanings and called the charges baseless. Ribhi Abdalla's older brother, Maisar, 26, described Ribhi as a hardworking family man and said someone must have misunderstood the men. "All my brother thinks about is bringing food to his wife and daughter," he said. Jadallah Abdallah's brother, Shihada, said his brother grew up in the West Bank and dreamed of immigrating to the United States. "Since he was 12 years old he wanted to come and live here," Shihada said through a family translator. Far from embracing militant causes, Jadallah moved here "to get away from the problems," he said. Family members said Ribhi Abdalla was born in the West Bank but grew up mostly in Dallas and came with his many siblings to San Antonio about seven years ago. Abdalla works about 10 to 12 hours a day behind a cash register at an uncle's gas station. He and his wife have a young daughter and are expecting another child. Maisar said his brother called him three times since his arrest, at first "swearing and crying and saying he really didn't remember what happened." By mid-afternoon, however, his brother sounded more composed and felt the charges soon would be dropped. Makram Hijaz is not related to the cousins and was visiting San Antonio from Mesquite, according to the brothers. They said the cousins were taking Hijaz out on the town. The club's general manager, Napolean Rodriguez, said that early in the evening the men argued with him about a lost cell phone. Later, Rodriguez said the stripper took him aside and told him the men had threatened to bomb military bases. He quickly summoned police. No matter how the investigation concludes, Rodriguez said he had no regrets about the call. "Nowadays, you have to take this seriously," he said. "What if I didn't call police and something would have happened?" mrgonzalez@express-news.net Staff Writer Maro Robbins contributed to this report.
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